Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by scottoale:

22oz. brown bomber with a bottling date or code on the bottom that reads 010 A2 13.09. It pours a golden-copper with great clarity and a finger of eggshell-white head. The head eventually recedes and leaves some nice patchy lace behind.

The nose is mostly of malt...chewy, doughy and biscuit like kind of malt with a descent dose of hops backing it up. The hops seem a bit muted here with just light citrus and some earthiness pulling through. I was thinking this was going to be a hopbomb of such, but the nose indicates otherwise.

The taste starts with a semi-sweet doughy malt that just gets consumed with a nice bitter citric and earthy astringent flavor from the hops. It's got some hop punch to it, but not like the double IPA's that I'm used to. It's got great flavor and that's what really counts.

The alcohol is well hidden for a 9 percenter, the mouthfeel is pleasantly full and the carbonation is somewhat mild. This all adds up to a good drinkability and a solid balanced brew. To me this is more of a killer IPA than a IIPA, but who really cares?

More User Reviews:

4/5 rDev -0.2%look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From BeerAdvocate Magazine Volume II, Issue II:

Interesting name, we were waiting for this bottle to transform into a hopback or a whirlpool, but nothing happened. Crystal clear, weathered golden color. A head retention that is hard to beat, ample frothing and solid clinging action going on here. Clean floral aroma, thick hopping of wild flowers, pine, faint tobacco, evergreen and a mildly fruity nose. Creamy medium body with a modest yet deep smooth carbonation. Insane amounts of hop flavor, bitterness is deep but not overly sharp or harsh at all. Bitter herbal, woody and with an almost kale-like and even turnip green flavor rides under the pungency of the bitterness. Small but pronounced nugget of maltiness in the middle, a little sweet and toasty but the hops smack it back down. The continued onslaught of hops does not let up at all from sip to sip.

For what the style is (DIPA) it certainly hits the mark. Big, bold, hoppy, with a clean palate to let the hops rule. Malt is big enough to be the base but does not intrude too much. Alcohol is hidden from the massive hopping as well. A killer beer for the hophead in you.

22 oz bottle, courtesy of jctribe25, pours a hazy orange amber body with a small offwhite head that sheds some average lacing.

Aroma is raw and earthy hops, floral and a bit grassy. Just a hint of caramel underneath.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with spritzy carbonation and some hop oils on the tongue.

Taste is dominated by hop bitterness. Earthy, pithy, leafy and floral. Backnotes of pear and apple add some interest. Malt presence is somewhat grainy and struggles to balance. Finishes clean with a sustained hop bitterness. Alcohol is well concealed.

I prefer citrusy hops which are lacking here. Still, a nicely done DIPA that is almost closer to an IPA in character.

Enjoyed a pint of this strong, hoppy brew @ the Legacy event at Hop Devil Grill in NYC a few weeks ago. It poured cloudy, medium amber, with a typical medium tan head, that left some light scatered lacing. The long sniff revealed a grainy hop nose. This is a full throttle hoppy beeer in the "SD" style. Very grainy and piney hop notes as it passes over the tongue. Love the style and was impressed by this ofering. Nice SD/CA style DIPA, hop lovers go get some and enjoy

Got this at an unnamed package store on P St. near Dupont Circle in Washington DC. A guy I talked to at the Brickskeller said it was new, and I'd add it if I knew the address and phone no.

Pours a slightly hazy light copper color with a one-finger off-white head. There are bubbles constantly streaming from the bottom that keep the head from receding to less than a pancake on top. Lacing is phenomenal, I can track my sips.

Smells good. Loads of citrus and floral hop aromas.

Tastes very good. Sweet malts with a hint of citrus flavors up front, followed shortly by a huge wallop of bitterness. The bitterness dries out the finish and sticks around for a while after the sip.

Mouthfeel is good. The constant stream of bubbles keeps the carbonation low but smooth, and there's a good thickness.

Drinkability is great. I have a hard time finding the alcohol in this, and I'm a big fan of bitter beers (take that Keystone).

Overall this is a very nice DIPA. I'm glad that I picked this one up, as it's one of those DIPA's where the alcohol isn't so high that I don't really get a hop wallop, but it's high enough to make me feel really good. Definitely give this one a shot if you see it around.

(Served in an American pint glass)A- This beer pours a bright copper crystal clear head with a swirl of tiny bubbles trailing up to a creamy off-white head that has craters a bit like the surface of the moon. The head last for a good bit.

S- The hint of sweetness gives way to a big green hop aroma with some earthy notes and a note of crushed green tree leaves at the finish.

T- This beer has a big pungent green hop taste right off the bat. There are notes of light fruit like peaches in the hops and a pungent hop flavor lingers after each sip almost staining my tongue.

M- This beer has a medium mouthfeel with no real alcohol heat. The soft carbonation at the finish does boost the hop bitterness.

D- This beer has a monster hop flavor with some interesting notes but no real depth of flavor or supporting malt flavor.

T/M: Moderate bitterness level due to a overbalancing from the thick, sweet malts. Malts are big and bready some some toasty notes. Hop citrus and pine is a bit subdues but still a major role. Body us full, thick, rich, and chewy.

D: I know this bottle is at least relatively fresh but the malts still overbalance too much. Couple that with a huge mouthfeel and that'll bring down the drinkabilitu a bit as well. Still a decent beer but not as good as the first time I had it.

A-Slightly veiled rich golden copper with with a short eggshell head that fades fairly quickly with nice lacing that coats the glass.

S-Citrus hops and mild pine resin with sweet malts and a strange sour funk in the background. I expected a bigger punch, but maybe this is a tad overchilled, but I don't think so.

T-Surprisingly lighter than expected taste, intitially malty, then the bitter hops take over with a long astringent bitter finish. I'm not getting the mouth puckering hops that I was hoping for, and the alcohol is surpisingly well hidden. This is OK, refreshing, but a bit of a letdown.

M-DIPA? I expected a thicker, chewy resinous hop bomb. This is definately on the lighter side of medium, and again, not really what I expected.

D-This is only average to me, and there are much better examples of the style to go for. I think I'll go grab an Avera Maharaja from the fridge and get the DIPA fix I'm craving.

This beer is a special release from Legacy, brewed with a recipe that was created by one of the bartender at Union Jack's on the Manatawny and made available for all Union Jack locations. Although this beer has been available at UJ's for a little while, I had the pleasure of trying it at their official release with folks from Legacy just last night.

The beer was poured from a tap handle with a picture of Optimus Prime (the Transformer and inspiration for the name I think) a cloudy golden/amberish color in a Legacy pint glass and had a medium off white head and some solid lacing. The nose of the beer was a hit of floral, citrus hops but with a malty sweet backbone that seemed to balance the aroma out well. The taste was equally hoppy, a big bit of piney, citrus hops but not overwhelming. There is a malty sweetness character on the back end that rounds this double IPA out really well. They also did a very good job of masking the high abv with a full flavored beer that has a medium body which all makes for a pretty darn drinkable beer. Cheers to the folks at Legacy and Union Jack's for this beer. I hope to see more of it.

The malt is very nice foundation with a honey-sweet efect that doesn't really balance out the overwheling fruity hop flavor. Bold and complex, not exactley well-rounded. Deep juice with a dry, earthy bitterness but it's not too serious. I wish it was. The heat is well, hot.

Taste: A good balance between the chocolate and darker malt flavors and the grassy, herbal and floral hop characteristics. Tea leaves and tobacco come through as it warms, along with bitter grapefruit hops, tree bark, and vinous notes.

Mouthfeel: Somehow seemingly lighter to medium-bodied, considering the ABV, with more than adequate carbonation.

Drinkability: A solid DIPA for around $4 a bottle, with easy drinkability, lots of flavor, and a good amount of complexity. I'd buy this again.

Looks very nice...ultra-creamy cap of foam, which leaves lace all over the place. The body is a sunny golden-orange, just slightly hop-hazed.

Why do I feel like I'm smelling a Belgian tripel, or saison? It's fruity and a little doughy from the malt. Not hoppy. Did they use a Belgian yeast strain? My nose could never have told me this was a double IPA if I hadn't known. Could also resemble a Belgian IPA aroma, but I gather that's not what Legacy was shooting for.

Flavor is also not really what is advertised on the label, but it does match what the aroma gives. It's fruity-sweet, with alcohol giving a warm hug to the taste buds; a kind of cookie dough element to the malt (shortbread, sugar cookie) but faint. Pine and citrus rind show up in the finish, which is about as close as this gets to the character of a great double IPA.

Mouthfeel is a little on the thin side--again, for the style. It's not bad, per se, but doesn't have that big, bountiful, sticky creaminess that others in this category do. Kinda bubbly, actually, which, again, seems all wrong here.

It's surely drinkable, as there's not much that's truly bad here. I even enjoyed it, but I really wanted a great double IPA tonight. Would be a fairly decent stab if it were trying to be an American version of a Belgian IPA, or could even hang as a decent-but-imperfect "regular" IPA. If I sound undecided, it's because this recipe seems undecided. Needs bigger malt, needs crazier hops, needs to feel thicker. Something. It is definitely no hopalacious hopdiculous hopocalypse of a double IPA.

I wish Megan Fox came with this.Pours a clear ambery orange with good white head. Head dissipates relatively quickly, but not too fast. Smell is on the weak side, but what there is is grapefruit and pine hops with some spice. This is more on the citrus hops side of things than the spicy kind, but there is some spice hop type of flavors lingering in the background. Nice malt balance through the middle and good hop bitterness on the finish. Mouthfeel is on the thin side for DIPA, but still good and above average. Drinkability is quite good. Maybe its the west coast in me, but I would take one of these over a hopwallop any day of the week. Drinking this one in celebration of WSUs 7th straight victory over the puppies of UW. Great beer, thanks again to gkatsoris!

This one wih complbut decent mouthfeel; Thanks for bringing, Jason. Grapefruit colour and foamy white head. A good high IBU well-integreated, citrus, and good lacing. Really bitter, bit well-malted. Clean taste, good citrus, pine,grapefruit. Above average beer in all situations.

Dark yellow, with a small head, that lasts for a few minutes.Very hoppy, pine, and citrus.A little hoppy to start then gets a little fruity followed by a huge bitter aftertaste.First cask beer so I donk know how to compare. Not as carbonated as im used to but still pleasant.A good beer overall. I would definitely enjoy this brew again.

Appearance: It's a little hazy and golden brown in color. Looks slightly orange. It's got an off white one and a half finger head. Retention was very average and lacing was spotty and very light.

Smell: Citrus grapefruit and pineapple hit the nose first and give it a very a sweet smell. Hops are pretty diverse as they possess some piney and floral characteristics. It's more malty than I expected. Pale and caramel malts are both noted. Nice earthy smell rounds it out along with just a hint of alcohol.

Taste: It's definitely sweet and citrusy. Grapefruit and pineapple combo is nicely done. Hops don't waste any time jumping into the mix adding a bitter kick. The hop profile is broad and well done. I don't know the bill here, but there's a nice combo of piney bitterness and floral earthiness. It's a little grainy. Caramel and pale malts are sweet and balance it out a lot. Too much actually. Alcohol is only faintly noted.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability: It's medium bodied and pretty smooth. Carbonation is nice and crisp. It's not quite creamy, but it's got a nice feel. Drinkability is good, but far from exceptional. I'm good with a single bomber. It's a little too big and not quite good enough to warrant a session.

This is an interesting, good DIPA. The name isn't quite consistent with the product. Perhaps I'm just perceiving it the wrong way. It's a big, diversified effort in terms of the hop bill. But, it's not an all out, palate bashing bitter DIPA. It's too balanced for that. Not sure what Legacy was going for. In any event, it's a good beer and more than worth checking out.

Cool name aside, this a pretty good DIPA, but it had a little too much malt flavor and not quite enough hops complexity. That said, it is very hoppy beer. Average (but strong) bitterness, smooth for the most part with a big, fruity citrus flavor with a mix of sharp, orange rind and floral perfume. Along with the hops, there's also a not-so-mellow fruity malt taste that's distinctly malty. That flavor would be more appropriate for an imperial red, but this is too much for me.